Wedding Morning Tips and Tricks
I love wedding mornings. All the planning is done, it’s time to sit back, get dolled up and soak in all the excitement and anticipation of what the rest of the day has in store for you.
They’re usually a mixture of caffeine, hairspray, music and emotions.
Over the years, I’ve picked up a few little things that genuinely help make the morning feel calmer, smoother and way more enjoyable.
If There’s Sh*t To Do, Do It The Night Before
Honestly, this is my biggest tip.
Put your lipstick and tissues in your handbag. Lay out your jewellery and underwear. Try on your outfit and make sure you have everything you need.
My best friend got married in St Andrews and her husband left his kilt in Inverurie - a fact only discovered at 11pm the night before the wedding. Thankfully, that’s a much better time to discover a missing kilt than 11am when you’re standing there with your shirt and socks on thinking, “Oh shit”.
You would be amazed how many wedding mornings involve missing shirts, forgotten ties, no socks or somebody realising they’ve forgotten something important right before leaving.
Just check the night before. It makes for a much more relaxed morning when you know you’ve got your sh*t together.
Get Steamin’
If dresses or veils need steamed, do it the night before if you can.
Steam and wedding morning glam are not friends. Steam kills curls and melts beautifully painted faces surprisingly quickly, so it’s much easier to get it sorted before everyone is ready. It also helps keep the morning space cool and calm.
The same goes for matching pyjamas and robes. If you’ve bought anything special to get ready in, take it out the packaging beforehand and hang it up overnight if you can. Keeping things folded in plastic until the morning often means everything is creased right before photos start.
A little bit of prep the night before makes the whole morning feel much calmer.
Keep Your Details Together
One of the first things I’ll usually photograph in the morning is your details.
Pop everything together in a box or bag beforehand so you don’t need to jump out the makeup chair hunting for shoes, jewellery and perfume when I arrive.
Detail suggestions:
Perfume
Jewellery
Stationery
Shoes
Flowers
Veil or hair accessories
Personal tokens (memorial pieces, badges, brooches, sentimental jewellery, watches etc)
Keep The Room Tidy
One thing people don’t always think about is just how quickly a getting ready room can turn into chaos.
Suitcases, backpacks, carrier bags, empty glasses, makeup packaging and random bits of rubbish build up surprisingly quickly, and while I can absolutely move things about when needed, it makes such a difference if everyone keeps on top of it throughout the morning.
I always recommend having a designated “sh*t corner” where bags, coats and random bits can live while we’re shooting. Even better? Pop anything you don’t need into the bathroom for a while.
The more clear space we have, the calmer the room usually feels and the nicer your photos will look too!
Choose Your Getting Ready People Carefully
Whether you want a room packed with all your best pals or a much quieter morning with one or two special people, it’s your day and you get to choose the vibe.
There are no rules. Get ready the way you want to.
Make A Bangin’ Playlist
The best wedding mornings always have good music on.
Make a playlist with songs you love, songs you know every word to and songs that make you feel good. Sometimes having a wee singalong while makeup is happening genuinely helps settle the nerves a bit!
When you listen to these songs again, you might remember some special moments or how you were feeling when you were singin’ along on your wedding day.
Make Sure Someone Knows How Your Dress Works
If your outfit needs buttoned, tied, clipped or bustled, make sure somebody knows exactly how to help you into it.
Have a practise run beforehand if you can.
Knowing how long it takes and how everything works makes the whole process feel much smoother, and future-you on the dancefloor will also appreciate it when nobody is trying to figure out the bustle while the best songs of the night are playing.
Practise With Body Tape Beforehand
Body tape is brilliant. Body tape can also humble you very quickly.
If you’re planning on using it, get familiar with it before the wedding morning. The five minutes you thought it would take can suddenly turn into twenty sweaty minutes of panic when nothing is sticking where it’s supposed to
Don’t underestimate it.
Plan Your Breakfast. Seriously.
Adrenaline can absolutely kill your appetite, but your body still needs fuel.
You want to be getting launched about the dancefloor to Loch Lomond at the end of the night, not completely wiped out after your dinner!
Picky bits like sandwiches, pastries and fruit are always a good shout, but you know yourself best. Just make sure you eat something.
Do Your Last Minute Bits Before The Outfit Goes On
Make sure you’ve peed, brushed your teeth and put deodorant on before you get dressed.
It sounds obvious, but once the outfit is on, suddenly simple tasks become surprisingly difficult.
Aim To Be Ready Early
I always recommend aiming to be fully dressed about an hour before you actually need to leave.
That little pocket of breathing room makes such a difference. Instead of watching the clock and stressing, you actually get time to enjoy the moment.
It’s also usually when we’ll do any first looks or reveals with your special people. Whether that’s parents, grandparents, pals or your wedding party - these moments are always so emotional and so lovely to capture.
Pssst… It’s also the perfect time for portraits.
You’ve picked the outfit, the hair, the makeup, the perfume. You’ve probably spent more money getting ready for this day than any night out ever, and you deserve photographs that are more than just a new profile picture.
These are the photos that end up framed on walls, printed in albums and looked back on for years.
Everything you’ve planned is finally real and happening.
So take a second and properly soak it all in.
